The Chronicles of a Magician
by Clyde Aurion the GM
Summary: Desch is an Apprentice Magician with a troubled past and a sharp tongue. He begins his journey to become the greatest Archmage in the Maple World. But first he must learn what it means to be a Magician...Rated for violence and profanity.


**(A/N): I wrote this story based on how I picture Maplestory in my head when I think of it as the ideal game for online gamers. This means that I won't have characters speaking l33t or any other computer language, and they won't be the one-inch tall avatars you see while playing the game. The characters will be normal-sized humans, not unlike the new Dungeon Fighter Online game that Nexon is coming out with. Anyway, on with the story!**

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Elinia. A dense forest-town surrounded by a thick, humid jungle. It was here that powerful beings known as Magicians were born with the assistance of the town leader and Head Archmage, Grendel the Really Old. The centuries-old spellcaster had founded the village of Elinia in his prime, which was many, many years ago, and since then he had been the teacher of every newcomer who wished to become a Magician. He had seen many things in his day, ranging from the weak-willed magicians whose spells were far too inadequate for them to be considered true Magicians, to the incredibly powerful Archmages who he himself had personally taught. Still, nothing would prepare him for his latest pupil, who would be walking through his front door at any moment.

Grendel had heard from an old acquaintance of his that the newest Magician-to-be, Desch, was a person like no other. The old spellcaster was eagerly awaiting this newcomer with his interest peaked at what could make this Beginner so special. Suddenly, he heard a knock at the door, and his wheezing voice shouted, "Come in!"

Desch was unlike anyone else who had ever walked through Grendel's front door. He was quite tall for a newcomer, and almost all Magicians were very short (Grendel himself was only 5'6''). The boy had long, spiky black hair that fell to his shoulder blades, while most Magicians preferred to keep their hair short and tidy (Although Grendel was an exception to this). Also, Desch's bangs fell over half his face, revealing only a piercing glare from a crimson-colored eye and a near-permanent frown formed from smaller-than-average lips. Desch wore a black cloak that covered his entire body from neck to toe, with a baggy hood hanging down the back. Grendel could only imagine what was running through this evil-looking guy's mind right now. Still, not one for bad manners, he said, "Ah, welcome. You must be Desch."

Desch flipped his bangs back, uncovering the rest of his pale face, while replying, "So I am. I'd heard from a Mr. Olaf that you were the one to see about becoming a Magician?"

At that moment, Grendel sensed something about Desch. The moment he flipped his bangs back, Grendel felt a surge of raw magical energy emanating from the Beginner, and he wondered if the boy had meant to release it or not. "Yes, yes I am. You know, Desch-"

"Save it. I'm not here for a speech, though I'm sure I'd like it," Desch said sarcastically, "Instead, I'm just here to become a Magician. I've heard of the properties of the Magician from a pair of Wizards I passed along the way here, and I don't believe I need to hear any more about your magic. Just make me into a Magician, _please_," Desch said the word please as if it was the worst word on Victoria Island.

Thinking of how the lad didn't have any manners, Grendel politely replied, "Of course. Now, just hold on a minute, and I'll share some of my magic with you..." With that, Grendel channeled a small bit of his immense Mana and formed a ball with it, then said, "Here. Take this into your body." He then released it from his grasp and lowered down to Desch through means of telekinesis.

Desch then held the ball of Mana in his hands, and shoved it into his chest. A surge of magic rushed throughout his body, and a giant Maple Leaf soon flashed behind him, signifying that he had become a Magician. After removing his hands from his chest, Desch reveled in the feeling of having his own Mana tripled by the orb, and with a smirk on his face, he said, "_Thank you_, old man. I'm a true magician now..."

Just as Desch turned to leave the bright-green library, Grendel called after him. "Wait. Take this," he produced a thick book from the air, and gave it to Desch. "This is the spellbook containing all the magic you'll be learning as an Apprentice Magician."

Desch took the book in his hands and read the cover. '_The Basics of Magic_.' He flipped through a few pages taking a look at some of the spells he would be learning soon. Closing the book up, he once again looked at Grendel, slightly bowed his head, and turned to leave.

Grendel watched as Desch walked out of the library, and many thoughts came to his mind, most of them about what kind of Magician Desch would turn out to be. Suddenly, he remembered that he forgot to give Desch his starting wand. Concerned, the old spellcaster turned to a few tables in the back of the library, where a host of Wizards and Clerics were busy studying their second level spellbooks, and called out to one in particular. "Pent! Come here!"

Soon, a silver-haired man with small glasses ran to his teacher, asking, "What is it, Master Grendel?"

"I forgot to give an Apprentice Magician his starting wand, and I'll need you to give it to him for me."

"Of course, sir. Anything else?" Pent knew that Grendel usually had more than one task to give to his students.

"Yes. I want you to tutor that same Magician who you'll give this wand to. His name is Desch, and he is...quite peculiar. Travel with him and make sure he stays out of trouble."

"Alright, sir. I'll do that. What does this 'Desch' look like?" Pent asked, and Grendel went on to tell him. Once the Archmage was done, Pent said, "I'll leave at once, sir. Good-bye."

Grendel thought of how incredible a Magician Desch could be under the tutelage of Grendel's finest current pupil, Pent.

Pent ran after the Apprentice Magician, teleporting all over the town to find him. At the portal leading out into the thick jungles, Pent spotted his target, and called after him.

Desch turned around and saw the silver-haired Mage running towards him. "Who are you and what do you want with me? Also, how do you know my name?" Desch asked in a low voice.

"Ah, I'm known as Pent, and I've been assigned by Master Grendel tutor you. Also, Master forgot to give you this." He held out a short wand made of Yew, which was a very magical kind of wood. "Your first wand."

Desch snatched it out of the Wizard's hand, and ran his fingers over it, examining it carefully. Unexpectedly, he took the stick and snapped it in half. "Useless," he muttered. "A pathetic wand such as that can't possibly manipulate anything near the amount of Mana I have. The old man should have known as much."

Pent, however, did not agree with Desch's sudden action, and made a violent outburst about it. "Why did you do that!? That was a special wand that was made for use by a person like you! Why did you break it!?"

"I just explained my reasoning. Anyway, I already have a wand of my own. See?" Desch pulled out a long wand, this one being crafted from the rare Maple wood. Pent noticed this immediately.

"That's a...Maple Wand!? Where did you get that!?"

"Doesn't matter. I have it, and I'm using it. Now, what did I hear about you tutoring me?"

Pent had to collect his thoughts and manners before he spoke again. "Ah, well, yes, from now on, I am your tutor. Master Grendel gave me the duty to assist you in your magical studies."

"No. I don't want a tutor or anything like that. I'm fine going solo. That being said, you've wasted enough of my time, so..." Desch accessed the exit portal, leaving to go out into the lush forest that surrounded Elinia.

Pent followed him, feeling that their conversation had not yet ended, as well as to begin Desch's training session.

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As Desch stepped out of the portal he immediately noticed that, amongst the many branches of the trees, there were countless hostile creatures that were attacking a female Magician. He saw that the girl had virtually no magical ability whatsoever, and that what little she did have had already been used up. Out of pity, Desch began his first spell, Energy Bolt, and aimed his wand at the monsters. A large ball of lightning shot out, and struck one of the foul beasts. However, instead of the normal reaction that monsters had to Energy Bolts (the bolt simply hitting them as if it were a physical attack), the animal had been completely obliterated by the spell, which frightened the other beasts into fleeing. Desch watched as they jumped through the trees, feeling a sense of superiority from their actions.

The girl rose, wiped many tears from her eyes, and began to speak, though she spoke barely above a whisper. "Uhm, thank you..."

"Desch."

"Desch. Thank you for saving me."

"If you actually had some talent in magic, I wouldn't have needed to help you. Too bad you don't. Oh, and I'll be expecting a reward in the near future." Desch had spoken with a hurtful, condescending tone in his voice, and it was clear that he was annoyed.

Desch's words stung the girl harshly, and she began crying on the spot. "A-Ah, yes, of course..."

At that moment, Pent came through the portal, and the sight before him was surprising. "Desch! What did you do to poor Kayla!?"

Desch turned his head to Pent, glaring at him as he talked. "This pathetic Magician couldn't fight off a few animals. Sad, really."

After the last statement, something snapped in Pent's mind. He rushed over to Desch and punched him as hard as he could. "You FOOL! Do you have no sympathy!? You, who have just become a Magician, has no right to talk down on someone who is of a higher status than you! Not only that, but you have the audacity to speak as if you are the greatest Magician there is!"

Desch felt along his jaw-bone, where Pent had attacked him. The punch had hurt greatly, though he wasn't about to admit it. "Shut up. You are the fool for not thanking me for saving her!"

"Saving her means nothing if all you are going to do afterwards is hurt her feelings!"

"Her feelings have nothing to do with this! I just saved her life, so she should be grateful for my presence whether I praise her or scold her!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SCOLD HER! She has more experience than you do!"

"How do you know that!? Are you some omniscient stalker for her or something!?"

As Desch and Pent continued their argument, Kayla sat down on a leafy branch, drinking a red potion that she had carried with her. 'They just keep going and going...' she thought, and she got up after finishing the last of her potion. She felt slightly better, and she started to wander around the canopy of the forest aimlessly, only to get jumped by the same beasts that attacked her earlier. This time however, they had a new addition to their mob: the Slime, a stronger monster that was created by magic and thus had a higher resistance to spells. With their new teammate, the creatures felt as though they could kill any magician that came their way. Or, at least they would if they could think of anything outside the lines of killing humans.

Pent had heard the rustling of tree leaves near Kayla, and ignored Desch's retort to see that the monsters were back, and that they had a new being on their side. Immediately, he started to cast his mob-killing spell, Thunderbolt. Many small Energy Bolts formed above each of the monsters, and from them came miniature bolts of lightning that rained down on the villainous creatures. They each fell limply on their sides, with the exception of the Slime, which stood its ground and counterattacked Pent. It brutally rammed into the Wizard, knocking him back many feet and leaving him vulnerable to the massive bubble that came crashing down onto his chest. The Slime had succeeded at knocking a Wizard unconscious, a feat seemingly impossible for any Slime weaker than the Slime King.

Desch, upon seeing Pent's limp body, chuckled before he pointed his Maple Wand at the stronger-than-average Slime, only to be struck from behind by another gelatinous creature, a Bubbling. The blow hurt him greatly, and the little stamina he had was quickly exhausting. He had two magic-resistant monsters to deal with, but he barely had the strength to even cast a spell. As he lied on the branches in pain, he saw the monsters make their way towards Kayla, preparing to beat down the last Magician in the area. Soon, he passed out from the pain, cursing his weakness and incompetence.

Kayla, knowing that these creatures were too strong for an Apprentice Magician such as herself, could only close her eyes and pray that some kind of miracle would occur and save her from the monsters. She immediately began to cry, hoping that someone, anyone, would come and rescue her. However, no one came, and the Slime bashed into her stomach, knocking the breath out of her.

Just as the Bubbling dived in for the final blow, however, a large, piercing shard of ice came out of nowhere and rocketed toward the monster, tearing through its jelly-like body and killing it. The Slime, confused by the sudden death of its comrade, shifted its eyes to anyone who could have summoned an icicle in the humid forest of Elinia. Said eyes beheld the sight of Pent, who had regained consciousness at the last minute, and the Slime dashed away to flee the angered Wizard.

Its efforts were useless, for Pent had his staff already held in the direction of the gelatinous being, and two words, spoken in a god-like voice, came out of his mouth. "Cold Beam!" Suddenly, three shards of ice appeared in the area closely around the Slime, and they spun around in a semicircle before quickly dropping down into the body of the monster. With its body pierced, the Slime melted away and fell to the forest floor, while the icicles disappeared with the squishy liquid. "...Evil creature doesn't even deserve my pity," Pent said with a feeling of superiority. He then ran over to Kayla and cradled her in his arms, calling out to her to wake up. He noticed that she was stirring, so he kept silent until she opened her eyes.

"Ah...did you...save me...?" Kayla muttered, exhausted. Her sky-blue eyes were half-opened while she lay there in Pent's arms.

"Yes, yes I did. No need to thank me; if I hadn't have woke up when I did then those monsters would've killed all three of us."

`"I see...and Desch? Where is he?"

"Erm, good question..." Pent said while looking around for Desch's unconscious body. After spotting it many feet from them, he said, "Ah, over there. He must have been knocked out as well. Anyway..." He let go of Kayla and rose up. He held out his hand and motioned for her to grab it. "Here. I'll help you up."

Kayla, embarrassed that she needed help getting up, grabbed onto his hand and rose to her feet. "Thank you for saving me, Mr. Pent."

"Like I said, no need to thank me. Well, what should we do about him?" he pointed at Desch, who was, of course, still unconscious. "Should we poke him with a stick until he wakes up? Or perhaps I should carry him back into Elinia?"

"Please, don't poke him. He saved me, just as you did, after all. You can just carry him back and I'll go find a decent place for him to lie down."

'She says that, but I doubt that her compassion for a rescuer can cover for what he said to her. I guess I'll just have to teach him some proper courtesy and manners once he wakes up...but first things first.' He walked over to Desch and grabbed his arm, pulling him up and dragging him over his shoulder. Desch was quite light for his height, he thought, and he got back to Elinia with no problems.

Kayla had gone ahead of Pent to find a place where they could let Desch rest. After all, he was just starting out as an Apprentice Magician, which meant that he had little stamina. Even Kayla, who wasn't anywhere near Desch in terms of magical ability, had more strength than he did.

She headed over to an Inn that lied hidden in some of the treetops, and walked in. She saw that the front desk was unoccupied, so she checked the regular room rates, left the proper amount of Mesos near the Meso register, and went back out to inform Pent of the Inn.

"Ah, that's good," Pent stated after hearing of the Inn that Kayla told him about. "Well, let's go set Desch down in one of the rooms and wait until he gets up. Still, maybe you should be the one to watch him..."

"Why?" Kayla asked curiously.

"Well, I've got to go tell Grendel about the growing strength of the monsters lately. Today's encounter wasn't the only one we've experienced, but it was certainly one of the most harsh. Also, I should tell you to never go out into the forest without a friend or partner to help you get out of a dangerous situation like that. We don't want any of our Apprentice Magicians to die, you know. Well, see you later!" With that, Pent left Desch in Kayla's care and set off for the Magical Library, where Grendel was most likely instructing Pent's classmates on some powerful spell or defensive barrier.

Kayla, who was also surprised at how light Desch was, carried him to a random, unused guest room and set him down on the large bed that filled up more than half of the small room. She found a lounging chair near the head of the queen-sized bed and sat down, feeling exhausted from her earlier battle. Soon, she fell asleep, not paying any mind as to when Desch would wake up.

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A few hours later, Desch's crimson eyes opened up. He was having an interesting dream, where he was a Rogue dressed in a green, skintight jumpsuit with a bowl-cut hairstyle, and he was amazingly fast and strong, while he constantly shed tears when a man with the same style of clothing and hair hugged him fiercely. 'Very weird...and extremely gay...' he thought as he got up from the bed. Wait, bed? Since when did he get in one of these? He scouted out his surroundings, seeing that he was in what looked like a cheap hotel room. His eyes then shifted to a spot beside the bed when he heard someone else's breathing, and there he saw Kayla, sleeping in a lounging chair. Deciding not to wake her, he took a moment to observe her sleeping face and body.

She had dark-brown hair that was neatly trimmed around the ends, which fell past her small shoulders and about a quarter down her back. Although her eyes were closed, Desch remembered that they were a light-blueish color that resembled they sky. Her nose was a bit small and slightly rose up around the tip, while her lips were normal-sized and pinkish. She wore a purple witch's dress with various sparkling white stars appearing near the bottom, which covered her from neck to toe, while concealing any curves that she had. Desch did see her shoes, which were a slightly lighter purple and were quite tiny. He also remembered that she stood around 5'4'', which was about the average height for female Magicians.

As he looked on for any other notable features Kayla had, he saw that around her neck was a sapphire pendant that caught his attention. The sapphire was large and imbued into a very ornate gold base. Laces of a dimmer gold were strung around her neck, and Desch could see that the pendant was extremely expensive. 'Only a wealthy person could afford such a necklace...' He could also sense that the pendant had a bit of magic inside of it, which he thought was used to increase a spell's power by a little. He reached out and fingered the ornate markings of the golden base of the pendant, surprised when he felt his health increase slightly. When he pulled back his hand, however, the blessing wore off, and he reasoned that the point of the necklace was to increase the chances of survival for its wearer. 'If I had that pendant, then maybe I wouldn't have been so easily knocked out by that Slime...'

Desch's touching on the pendant stirred Kayla, and soon she opened her eyes. She closed them almost immediately when she yawned and stretched, and once they opened again, she saw that Desch was examining her closely, as if she was a foreigner or something. "Good evening, Desch. Did you sleep well?"

"...No. Not really. Where am I? Did you have something to do with this?" he asked.

"Oh, well..." Kayla went on to explain how Pent had taken care of the monsters in the forest and how he had carried him back into the town and to the Inn they were staying at. When she finished her short, vague explanation, she asked, "So, are you feeling any better?"

"Well, I'm not being tackled by mindless Slimes or brainless Bubblings, so I'll be alright. Still, that fool-of-a-tutor actually made himself useful and killed those things, while I was knocked unconscious like some pathetic drunkard who had too much to drink? Damn, how is that possible...? I'm too weak..." Desch looked to the floor, wallowing in self-hatred.

Kayla would not stand for that, however, and said, "Well, at least you're alive, and not killed by some weird monster like my best friend was." Memories started to come back to Kayla in a flood, all of them about the time she spent with her deceased friend. Tears began to swell in her eyes, but she did her best to hold them back.

"Your best friend died in a monster attack? That's too bad. Oh well," he said inconsiderately in a low voice. His statement caused Kayla's tears to fall, yet he didn't care. "Stop your crying, you magically-handicapped fool. Your friend isn't here, and there's nothing you can do about it. Life goes on...well, for us, at least. As for your friend, she got what she deserved for being so incompetent. Even I wouldn't have gotten killed by a weird monster...well, as long as it doesn't sneak up on me while I kill its comrade."

Suddenly, Kayla slapped Desch across his cheek as hard as she could, then left the room in a downpour of tears. 'How...how could he say such cold-hearted things? I thought he was a good person, but I guess I thought wrong...he's horrible. I should make him pay for the room, but that would just make me almost as bad as he is...' Kayla thought while exiting the Inn. She made her way towards the Magical Library, hoping she could talk to Pent about his student.

Meanwhile, back at the Inn, Desch was rubbing his stinging cheek, not caring about how he crossed the line in the conversation. 'If she can't take a little harsh speech, then she shouldn't have become a Magician. I don't think that an experienced Magician should get so emotional over a dead friend. The person is dead, so the living should simply move on. Is that so hard? Apparently so, if her reaction was so severe. Well, I think I should be getting out of here. I don't want to have to face my supposed tutor when he hears her bitching...not that I'm afraid of him, though.' So, he left out of the Inn and started towards the exit portal, hoping he could leave Elinia without running into Pent on the way. Just as he was reaching the portal, however, he heard heavy trudging noises behind him, and figured that someone was running to him. He turned around, and saw that Pent was sprinting after him with an angered look on his face. 'Shit, I was too slow in getting here...' he thought, while bracing himself for an impact.

Pent, with his quick body, made it to Desch before he used the portal and punched the Apprentice Magician as hard as he could, sending Desch crashing to the thick branches of the trees. He rushed over and grabbed the collar of Desch's cloak, pulling him up from the branches and punching him once more. Afterwards, he took out his staff and held it in Desch's direction, casting a spell while his student was down. A light enveloped Desch and when it subsided, he felt that his arms and legs were paralyzed, yet he found that he could still feel pain when Pent swung his staff down at Desch's bound hands.

"Why did you say such a thing to Kayla? Do you even care that she is a human being, and thus has feelings!? Well!?" Pent shouted, enraged at the memory of a sobbing Kayla when he left her at the Magical Library to confront Desch about his actions.

Desch, however, wouldn't say anything outside of "Fuck you" or "Fuck her" to him. His piercing glare was entirely focused on Pent, and it looked as if Desch wholeheartedly wanted to kill his tutor. His arms and legs were paralyzed, however, and he could neither fight back nor escape. That left him susceptible to the furious attacks that Pent landed on him.

With no intention of letting up, Pent unleashed blow after blow of punches and kicks and then he asked once more, "Why did you insult Kayla's deceased friend!? Are you that inconsiderate of other people!?" His onslaught continued until a couple of minutes later, when he began to feel tired after thrashing Desch. "Do you have no heart, you demon...?"

Desch's pale skin was covered with bruises and blood, yet his pride kept him from apologizing. Instead, his mouth let out the words, "You're a fool...if you think...that I'll say I'm sorry..." His breath was ragged after suffering so many hits. "I'm not sorry for anything...why should I be sorry for speaking my mind...? After all...she's the one...who has emotional problems...which are unbefitting of a Magician..." His glare never left the face of Pent, and while he did have a black eye, his stare still held the same contempt for the Wizard as it did before he was attacked.

"You just don't get it...do you?" Pent said. "You don't know the pain of losing a friend...like she and I do..."

"I've never had a friend, so...I couldn't possibly care less."

"Well, then...I guess you have no right to call yourself a true Magician yet...so I'll be taking your spellbook until you can say that you know actual friendship...until then, Desch, you are not a Magician." Pent took Desch's 1st spellbook and released the paralysis spell he had put on him. Then, he turned around a walked back to the Magical Library to tell Grendel how the encounter went.

Desch, on the other hand, was not as calm. "No! You can't take my spellbook from me! Get back here, you fool! You can't tell me off like that! You aren't talented enough! Come back!" Once Desch realized that his words were spoken in vain, he started to shout once more. "Fuck you! Fuck you and this entire goddamn forest! Fuck that bitch called Kayla! Fuck you all!" With that, Desch grabbed his Maple Wand and headed out of the town using the portal, vowing never to return again.

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**(A/N): Well, that's the first chapter. I know that it's quite different then the actual MMO, but that's because I wanted something a bit different than what everyone's used to in a Maplestory...story. Anyway, whether you liked it or not, it would be great if you could write up a review to let me know about any parts I could improve on. And that's that.**


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